Hearing handicap and frailty in communitydwelling older adults living

Abstract

Purpose: To verify the relationship between hearing handicap and frailty in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 238 older adults (aged ≥ 60 years) in 2018. The Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly – Screening version – HHIE-S was applied to assess the hearing handicap. To assess frailty, the Frailty Phenotype proposed for Fried and co-workers was adopted, objectively evaluating 5 criteria: unintentional weight loss, reported fatigue, reduced grip strength, reduced walking speed and low physical activity. It was investigated whether the hearing handicap were related with frailty using Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman test. Results: Worse perception of the hearing handicap was found in pre-frail and frail individuals, compared to non-frail individuals. In addition, hearing handicap showed a positive and statistically significant correlation with frailty. Conclusion: Hearing handicap is related to frailty in community-dwelling older adults